My "boss" was pushing my team to finish the cybernetics versions as quickly as possible, as this would be the main version rolled out to Arasaka forces and possibly included as an upgrade to the higher-end Araska operating systems moving forward. The wreaths were being sent mostly to Northern California and given to Arasaka-hired mercenaries in the area, so they could be seen to have an immediate effect on the war between the federal government and the Free States.
In a world of dangerous netrunners, it might sound like a shortsighted decision to include a piece of cybernetics specifically designed to make the user fall asleep, but there were already a number of black viruses and quickhacks that could put people into temporary comas, so it really wasn't that big of a deal so long as the security was tight.
That was another area that I had been a bit lackadaisical in, but only because, at the time I designed the cybernetics, I didn't have the design files to integrate it into an operating system closely. I did now, but my team was the one who was handling most of this work, as they all had experience working on Araska OSes. I had already been told that when we released our first version of products, I would be replaced as the Project Lead for this project and return back to Japan, where I would be placed in a more research and development role.
Right now, I was working as an engineer, basically, instead of a researcher, but they were very firm in their desire to get these products rolled out as quickly as possible. I had the feeling that they were kind of concerned that I was going to be some kind of "one-hit wonder", but they were committed to funding a number of subsequent projects even so. A sinecure was a small price to pay to ensure I would not be able to license my technology to competitors, after all. I would have to give them at least a few more winners, though, before I was valued enough that I could do whatever I wanted to do, which was my entire purpose for trying to get myself kidnapped.
I nodded and stretched out in the chair I was sitting in, tugging at the collar of my blouse, straightening the lapel pin that featured Arasaka's three-limbed-tree logo. I wasn't wearing a uniform precisely, but Arasaka definitely had a dress code and grooming standards. They were a very socially conservative company.
Well, at the lower level, you'd see as much skin as you wanted, but I was, theoretically, an executive and researcher, so I had to dress the part. It wasn't that surprising when you considered that the man that ran the company was born during World War One and fought as a fighter pilot in World War Two. Gram had referred to Saburo Arasaka as "a bit stuffy" when we had briefly discussed some of the larger Corporations of the world, and I felt that was something of an understatement.
That said, I kind of liked the clothes even if I wasn't used to this cut and style. They were right up my alley and in subdued colours to boot, but they definitely were not Sakura's style of choice. She always preferred dressing a little more provocatively than would be acceptable here.
"I've been told that I'll be sent back to Japan when my product launches. I doubt they'll keep you or your team here after that, either," I told him conversationally.
He grinned, "I can't say I will miss this place. Even if this wasn't a highly-classified facility, this city is amongst the most dangerous in North or Central America." That was true, and that was saying something. We were off to a side, sequestered from most of the facility we were in, and it wasn't permitted to go nosing about, and nobody was allowed outside into the city proper, escort or not. I was sure my freedom wouldn't be that much different even when I got to Japan, but at least there, I would probably have nicer accommodations and a lot more distractions available. Here, I really only had one, and he wasn't one that I was really interested in partaking in.
A message caused me to pause, frowning, 'Think of the devil, and his cute face will appear.' My personal assistant was requesting my presence to go over something or other. I sighed and stood up, "Well, I have to go." He nodded and went back to working on his implants, kind of staring off into space and fiddling with something only he could see on his augmented reality system. Most of his and my team wasn't actually on this base; it was just that this was one of the closest locations that had a secure enough connection that we could send sensitive documents back and forth and teleconference with the members of our team back in Japan.
Arasaka wouldn't be comfortable sending the design files of their products over the net, no matter how much encryption was used. I didn't know what kind of connection this base had back to Japan, only that it was "secure." I assumed that it involved a dedicated satellite uplink, though, or perhaps some secret undersea cable.
I walked back to the room that was set aside for my personal accommodation and met a smiling young man in my living area. This was Yuki, my Arasaka-provided "personal assistant." He made me a little bit uncomfortable because I thought he was close to what Sakura Hasumi's "interpersonal ideal" would be. Namely, a few years younger than her, male, pretty to the point of being androgynous and with a submissive personality. Sakura liked bishōnen, and Arasaka clearly had a file on her preferences from before she entered America.
Sakura was the opposite of me in many ways. I had a very good understanding of her personality and sexual preferences from all of her files, which included a disturbingly large amount of explicit virtus that she had scrolled of herself with a number of sexual partners, all of which were similar to Yuki here.
Sakura had been almost hypersexual and borderline aromantic, which was about the opposite of my proclivities. This made things difficult because if I was really Sakura Hasumi, this pretty boy would have already been "serving" underneath me in many ways that I wasn't that interested in. Yuki had clearly been expecting the same thing, as he had asked me if there was something wrong with him about a week after the meeting, and if so, a replacement could be found.
I told him bluntly that since my kidnapping, I wasn't generally interested in sex anymore. I was pretty sure that he, and now Arasaka, thought that my durance vile was a lot more vile than it probably had been in actuality. Still, them making the assumptions about sexual trauma I didn't experience did stop them from wondering why I wasn't tumbling the pretty boy dangled in front of me like free candy.
I kept Yuki on because he really was good at his job, and it was unavoidable that I would have some Arasaka minders, so it might as well be the one I was already familiar with.
" Hasumi-sama! " he called out as he stood up, smiling in his pretty-boy way. He had a soft way of speaking, to go with his subservient personality. Although I hadn't found that too attractive in a potential male mate as Sakura had, I did find it pleasant for a company-provided minder. " I heard that you will be finishing up in a month or so. Is that true? I wanted to go over the plans moving forward. Also, there are some other things we need to go over if you have time, of course. "
I rubbed my wrist lightly, which had become a habit lately. I had been seen by an Arasaka cybersurgeon on base, and to my surprise, they allowed me to keep my monowire, sort of. They hadn't discovered anything out of the ordinary in my cyberbrain, either, nor the importance of the more than a dozen Haywire pairs I had installed. I had gotten them very small now, about the size of a grain of rice, which was good because I needed spares. Both so I could handle maintenance on them periodically and also for expansion opportunities in the future, as it might be some time before I could send and receive arbitrary parcels between Hasumi and the rest of my bodies.
They didn't notice them at all, but they were quite interested in the modifications I had made to my monowire to make it more concealed, so they removed it and replaced it with a stock Kendachi version. As far as I could tell, it hadn't been modified in any way that would allow Arasaka to install a kill switch in it, but just in case, I had reflashed the firmware with the latest version Kendachi released a few days later.
They did make me demonstrate proficiency with it, though, with the base security forces. That wasn't generally required with other integrated weapons systems that Arasaka offered to its executives, like its Mantis Blades, but it was a lot easier to kill yourself with a monowire, so I couldn't really blame them. My proclivity for weapons and boostware was also noted as a divergence from Sakura's preferences, but I believed they also thought that it was down to me being concerned about my safety after being kidnapped. I made sure to demonstrate all of the hallmarks of mild post-traumatic stress disorder, too, in order to sell the illusion.
I sat down at a couch across from him, noticing that Yuki remained standing until I took a seat and nodded, " That's right, Yuki-san. The first prototypes are being tested now, and soon there won't be much for me to do anymore. What do you need to go over? "
He smiled pleasantly and said, " First, we need to formalise your plans to draw down your former company, as your first quarter revenues are due to be paid to this entity." I raised an eyebrow and nodded, and started reviewing the paperwork he offered me carefully. I was, as I had in the past, listening to any legal advice that Arasaka offered me, but I double-checked everything. The last time they offered me a contract, an employment one, they had brought in what was allegedly an independent attorney to advise me. However, at the same time, I had taken everything they had given me to another attorney in Night City as Taylor, just with the names altered so the Night City attorney wouldn't know the source of the contracts that I wanted them to review. I was already on the phone with the firm I somewhat trusted to review these documents, too.
Arasaka didn't know I had any net access, so I was curious if they were attempting to screw me over in some way. So far, not, but I would continue this process, especially as it pertained to my solely-owned holding company. Yuki said, " Please review these documents, and if you'd like me to bring in some legal counsel, that would be fine, too."
I nodded and carefully adjusted the scanned documents, removing any items that could identify me before forwarding them to the firm to review while I simultaneously looked them over also. It took about ten or fifteen minutes to review everything, along with the on-call attorney I hired.
My outside attorney zeroed in on a few clauses, and I motioned, " I'd like to speak to one of those attorneys if you don't mind." Yuki nodded and said, " Of course, Hasumi-sama. We have a couple on base; it will just take a few minutes to get one here. "
We waited in companionable silence for a time before the doorbell rang, which Yuki sprung up to get. He ushered a woman into the room, and it was the same lady as last time. Yuki smiled and said, " Well, I'll leave you two alone, then."
He started to leave but I waved a hand and said, " You can stay, Yuki, if you like."
I kind of wanted to see what this woman would say to that, and she frowned and shook her head, " Hasumi-san, I really have to advise against that. Whatever he hears, he will definitely be obligated to relay to any authorised agent of Arasaka Corporation. He's not able to offer any kind of pledge of privacy."
Yuki nodded rapidly, looking very bashful, " Ano... Hasumi-sama... she is quite correct."
I didn't know that I believed the Arsaka-provided attorney was any different; still, I shrugged, " I don't need any privacy for these questions." That caused Yuki to raise an eyebrow and glance at the woman, who was still frowning, but she finally shrugged. The pretty boy scampered back over to me and sat beside me on the couch.
Our implants negotiated a connection between each other, and our operating systems entered into a shared AR-mode, where we could produce and review documents and other files together. It was a pretty common working mode and theoretically was the basis for all "paperless offices."
The implementation of this system differed based on the OS you had, with low and even mid-tier models featuring only a floating, shared audio-visual GUI window. However, high-spec systems like in my MoorE technology OS and the attorney's Arasaka system could negotiate realistic virtual objects, so the digital file I had been reviewing turned into a stack of paper, complete with both tactile sense and weight, using the physics engine of my own system to provide a very realistic version of physical objects.
She could take a pen and mark on the document, and that would be reflected in the digital file, and I could even, if I wanted to, drop the sheets of paper, and they would make a mess on the floor, although it would be as simple as derezzing them and rerezzing them to get them back, instead of forcing me to pick up each sheet of paper individually. It was a very intuitive system, and the verisimilitude level of the simulated objects was pretty high, going as far as to even smell like actual paper. I shuffled through some pages before I handed the packet of documents to the attorney, parts of it already having been highlighted by me digitally based on areas that my outside attorney had identified as potential areas of concern.
I said, " I've highlighted a few areas; for example, it seems this section is somewhat restricting me from restarting production of a product competing with Arasaka, and another area seems to prevent me from producing products in certain geographic areas, but it isn't clear on what those areas are. "
The attorney raised her eyebrows at me and inclined her head, " Let me review the whole document, and then we can go over these areas. " I nodded and waited a whole twenty minutes objective time as she read the packet twice. I worked on editing a few chapters of Rage of a Villainess while I waited.
Finally, she nodded, " It is as you say, with the caveat that the restriction from producing competing products only applies while you are also an employee of Arasaka. It is a pretty standard boilerplate language often given to employees who also are either majority shareholders or solely own a separate enterprise. In your case, you would be required not to resume production of sleep inducers, and possibly other products if you develop similar products for Arasaka... although those products would generally be covered under separate intellectual property agreements, as employees wouldn't generally own the IP of products you developed while a researcher at Arasaka, if for one reason you did then you wouldn't be permitted to compete while you were also an employee." She really liked adding qualifiers like "generally" to everything she said, as did other attorneys I had talked to, but what she said pretty much agreed with what I thought it said, as well as what my other attorney had claimed as well.
